My Great Name

by Aleksandr Bakhmatov, age 15
photo by Liliya Khylchuk

My name is Aleksandr, which means "the defending man," and the origin of the name is Greek and Russian. I was born on Friday close to sundown. It was the beautiful November when the leaves were falling and so was the rain.

It was the month that was preparing to meet the freezing cold winter that was going to burn faces with the touch of the coldest snowflakes. The weather was nice outside, the gold sun rays were falling on to the busy streets. The leaves were falling down to the ground.

That was the day when I was born. That was the day when I saw the golden sun rays and the world in its beauty, that was the day when I saw my parents and that was the day when my dad called out my name. That was the day when I accepted my name to be mine.

Aleksandr: special, incredible, windy, sunny, rainy, gold, rich and popular. None of my ancestors have had a name as great and popular as mine.